Sean Penn’s wife of just over a year Leila George has filed for divorce from the actor.
The Australian actress, 29, – who wed Penn, 61, in July 2020 after four years of dating – filed divorce documents on Friday in a Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to TMZ.
It marks the end of Sean’s third marriage after previously divorcing from House Of Cards actress Robin Wright in 2010 after 14 years together and Madonna in 1989 after four years together.
Splitsville: Sean Penn’s wife of just over a year, Leila George has filed for divorce from the actor (pictured together in January 2020)
No details of what led to the split have been provided at this time.
Penn first confirmed he had married George last summer during a civil ceremony over zoom.
Shortly afterwards during a Late Night with Seth Meyers appearance he flashed a gold wedding band.
He told the host: ‘We did a COVID wedding. By that, I mean it was a county commissioner on Zoom and we were at the house with my two children and her brother, and we did it that way.’
At 29, Leila is only a few months younger than his now 30-year-old daughter Dylan Penn, and only two years older than his son Hopper, 27.
Last public outing: The couple were last seen out together on August 1 as they shopped at a Pavilions supermarket following lunch in Malibu
Wedding: Penn first confirmed he had married George last summer during a civil ceremony over zoom and shortly afterwards during a Late Night with Seth Meyers appearance he flashed a gold wedding band (pictured)
A history of Sean Penn’s love life:
Sean has been married to Leila since last July, but the actor has had two previous marriages, to actress Robin Wright and superstar Madonna.
First marriage: Robin Wright 1996 to 2010
First marriage: Robin Wright 1996 to 2010
Sean was married to House Of Cards actress Robin Wright, 55, for 14 years.
The former couple share two children Dylan, 30, and Hooper, 28.
They had an on-and-off marriage and he had first filed to divorce the actress in December 2007 before they reconciled five months later.
In April 2009 the actor filed for divorce again, before he withdrew the motion just one month later.
However in August of that year, Wright filed for divorce and court records show that they were officially ruled divorced less than one year later, on July 22, 2010.
Second marriage: Madonna 1985 to 1989
Sean was married to Material Girl singer Madonna for four years.
He has spoken about always having a special place in his heart for the star, saying in a 2018 Stephen Colbert appearance ‘I love my first wife very much.’
Second marriage: Madonna 1985 to 1989
In 2016 Madonna confessed that she was ‘still in love’ with the actor and jokingly offered to re-marry him if he paid $150,000 to her charity.
When she filed for divorce she cited irreconcilable differences.
Prior to their wedding she seemed to think it was headed for trouble: ‘His temperament is also similar to mine. That doesn’t always make for ideal relationships, but I don’t know what will happen.’
The relationship was plagued by physical and emotional abuse, and she sought psychiatric help after the wedding.
In June 1987 he reportedly hit her across the head with a baseball bat but she refused to press charges.
Two years later she filed a police report after he scaled their Malibu home and told her he owned her ‘lock, stock, and barrel,’ and then proceeded to physically terrorize her, leaving her with injuries including a busted lip.
Penn was charged with felony domestic assault, but Madonna told the DA to drop the charges against him, though he eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. They split shortly thereafter.
Though split details are unknown, Sean spent most of August and early September overseas promoting his film Flag Day with his daughter Dylan.
The couple’s last public outing came in August as they went to a grocery store in Malibu, California.
On October 13, The I Am Sam actor was spotted out solo following dinner at Craig’s without his wedding ring.
Sean first met Leila on the set of the movie The Last Face starring Javier Bardem and Charlize Theron and had said that it was love at first sight.
Already over? The I Am Sam actor was most recently spotted out solo on October 13 in Los Angeles without his wedding ring
It’s over: The Australian actress, 29, – who wed Penn, 61, in July 2020 after four years of dating – filed divorce documents on Friday (pictured in January 2020)
However the relationship had its ups and downs as a source told PEOPLE in August 2020 that prior to their marriage he had to ‘win her back.’
‘They got together and then they broke up, and Sean won her back,’ said the insider. ‘He realized he had made a mistake and when he felt he might lose her, he worked hard to get her back.’
‘They got back together during COVID and became really close and got engaged a few months ago, early during quarantine.’
Prior to George, Penn had been in a two decade long relationship with Robin Wright and they were married for 14 of them.
Second marriage: He was previously married to House Of Cards actress Robin Wright from 1996 to 2010 (pictured in February 2009)
Tumultuous: The marriage had been very on-and-off and he had first filed to divorce the actress in December 2007 before they reconciled five months later; pictured 2007
The marriage had been very on-and-off and he had first filed to divorce the actress in December 2007 before they reconciled five months later.
In April 2009 the actor filed for divorce again, before he withdrew the motion just one month later.
However in August of that year, Wright filed for divorce and court records show that they were officially ruled divorced less than one year later, on July 22, 2010.
In 2012 Penn had dropped a bombshell while speaking to Esquire saying that he felt like he was never truly ‘loved’ by Wright or his first wife Madonna.
Kids: Penn and Wright share two children: daughter Dylan, 30, (center) and son Hopper, 27 (left), and he had spent the majority of August doing press overseas for their film Flag Day
‘There is no shame in my saying that we all want to be loved by someone. As I look back over my life in romance, I don’t feel I’ve ever had that. I have been the only one that was unaware of the fraud in a few of these circumstances blindly.
‘When you get divorced, all the truths that come out, you sit there and you go, What the f**k was I doing? What was I doing believing that this person was invested in this way? Which is a fantastically strong humiliation in the best sense. It can make somebody very bitter and very hard and closed off, but I find it does the opposite to me. ‘
In 2014 Wright told The Telegraph that the whole divorce process — especially with kids involved — was ‘devastating.’
‘Divorce in and of itself, and with children, is devastating. Worst than that. One of the reasons why we got back together and broke up so much was trying to keep the family together. If you’ve got kids, it’s a family, and you try again, and you try again. We did that for a long time.’
First love: He was married to Madonna from 1985 to 1989 but the relationship was tumultuous and included several instances of physical and emotional abuse; pictured November 1987
Problematic: Just before the divorce, she filed a police report against him after he scaled their Malibu home and told her he owned her ‘lock, stock, and barrel,’ (pictured August 1986)
He was married to Madonna from 1985 to 1989 and had spoke about always having a special place in his heart for the Material Girl singer, saying in a 2018 Stephen Colbert appearance ‘I love my first wife very much.’
In 2016 Madonna confessed that she was ‘still in love’ with the actor and jokingly offered to re-marry him if he paid $150,000 to her charity.
When she filed for divorce she cited irreconcilable differences. Prior to their wedding she seemed to think it was headed for trouble: ‘His temperament is also similar to mine. That doesn’t always make for ideal relationships, but I don’t know what will happen.’
The relationship was plagued by physical and emotional abuse, and she sought psychiatric help after the wedding.
In June 1987 he reportedly hit her across the head with a baseball bat but she refused to press charges.
Two years later she filed a police report after he scaled their Malibu home and told her he owned her ‘lock, stock, and barrel,’ and then proceeded to physically terrorize her, leaving her with injuries including a busted lip.
According to reports: ‘When she told him she was leaving the house, he tried to bind her hands with an electric lamp and cord. Screaming and afraid, Madonna fled from the bedroom. What followed was a nine-hour ordeal which left her deeply shaken. Penn chased her into the living room, caught her and bound her to a chair with heavy twine. Then he threatened to cut off her hair.’
Penn was charged with felony domestic assault, but Madonna told the DA to drop the charges against him, though he eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. They split shortly thereafter.
Rekindling? In 2016 Madonna confessed that she was ‘still in love’ with the actor and jokingly offered to re-marry him if he paid $150,000 to her charity (pictured 2013)
Sean also dated actress Charlize Theron from 2013 to 2015, according to People.
The pair were friends for years, Charlize claimed in a Vogue interview in 2014.
‘It just kind of naturally happened, and before I knew it, I was in something that was making my life better – the people who really love me can see the effect it has had on me,’ she told the publication at the time.
The couple reportedly split in June 2015.
A few months prior to their breakup, it was claimed that Sean had proposed to Charlize in Paris.
Exes: Sean also dated actress Charlize Theron from 2013 to 2015, according to People (pictured in 2015)
The 44-year-old actress debunked these rumors during a interview with Howard Stern last summer.
She said: ‘That’s not true,’ she said. ‘That’s not true. No. I did not ‘almost get married to Sean.’ That’s such bulls**t. We dated. That was literally all we did.’
Theron continued: ‘We dated and then we didn’t date. It was a relationship, for sure. We were definitely exclusive, but it was for barely a year.
‘We never moved in or… like, no, I wasn’t gonna marry him. It was nothing like that.’
Charlize went on to emphasize the fact that she ‘never wanted to get married,’ saying that it has ‘never been something that’s important to me.’
Having her say: She said of their relationship: ‘We dated and then we didn’t date. It was a relationship, for sure. We were definitely exclusive, but it was for barely a year’